On Grub Street last week, writer Felix Salmon explored the current trend of restaurants listing the origin of the vegetables they’re serving on the menu, right down to the actual farm. What’s going on here is really “an attempt to get customers to value — and pay premium dollars for — basic ingredients like Brussels sprouts, shallots, and chestnuts.”

And it’s good for restaurants. Even more expensive produce is much cheaper than a nice cut of meat, so creating an entire meal around heirloom potatoes and shallots works out for them in the long run. And you may end up paying a very similar price for that potato dish as you would a dish with more expensive animal protein. read more at http://goo.gl/IO0rn